You are here: Home
Print this page

Home

Apple Presenter Profile - Bob Wood

Here"s the second in our series of interviews with the many talented presenters here at Apple AM - now it"s the turn of the chap with the velvet voice, Bob Wood.
Category: General
Posted by: simon west
What"s your name? 
Bob Wood - though in some parts known as "BOD" - the well-known spelling mistake (don"t ask!).

How long have you been a presenter at Apple?
Interesting question. I was one of the founder members of Taunton Hospitals Broadcasting Service (T.H.B.S.) as it was then, in 1969, at the age of 17. I remained until 1977, when other commitments, i.e. marriage, and children, took over. I rejoined at the opening of Apple A.M. in 2004, and have been here ever since. So, 39 years from the beginning, but only 12 years actual broadcasting.

Do you have any other broadcasting history? 
No! Although I did apply to the B.B.C. in Bristol in 1970, and was accepted, but decided not to pursue that. (Silly boy!)

Why is it important to you to volunteer time at Apple? 
In 1969, it was a hobby, which I, and my original colleagues, felt needed to have a useful and meaningful outlet. It grew from that pre-recorded 2 hours-a-week request programme in a home-made bedroom studio, to the 24/7 monster that it is now! So it is important because it is useful and meaningful.

What"s your favourite music genre and name some of your favourite artists and songs?
I have a very wide taste in music, from classical (Vaughan Williams) to Progressive Rock (Deep Purple), but if pushed, I would say latin-rock, jazz-funk, or any combination of those four words. Favourite acts would include Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac (in all their guises), Genesis and all their solo projects, Brand New Heavies, Swing Out Sister, Chris Rea, Sade,  Clannad, The Alan Parsons Project, and Tobymac and Koop(who you"ve probably never heard of).  Favourite Album in all the world would definitely be Jeff Wayne"s Musical Version of "The War of The Worlds" - an absolute classic and in my opinion the best "themed" album ever!  Favourite single tracks: probably "Advice for the Young" at Heart by Tears for Fears, closely followed by "Atmosphere" by Tobymac.

If you could interview anyone on your show, who would it be, why and what would you ask?
Never really thought about it, but I suppose Sir Patrick Moore, the astronomer, would be fairly high on that list, possibly when he was a bit younger than he is now. Astronomy is another hobby of mine. I have no idea what I would ask him!

If you could make any wish come true for the station, what would it be?
That we could be better known outside the hospital, because we have a great little radio station here, which goes, comparitively, almost unnoticed outside.

What"s the name of your show, what do you play/talk about?
I present a show called "Bob"s Apple Crumble" on Wednesday evenings between 6 and 8, for sample playlist see answer to Q5!  I also co-present "Cross Connections", with Chris Hanscomb, on Sunday evenings between 6 and 7, which is a Christian music and chat programme, and not as narrow, musically, as you might think!

What"s the highlight of your show and do you have any forthcoming "new" bits planned you"d like to tell the listeners about?
Highlights of "Apple Crumble" include Crackle Corner, where I dig up old vinyl 45s, that you probably haven"t heard before; a comedy spot; and No.1s on this day in history, both in the U.K. and the U.S.A. New to the show is our Countdown of the Top 500 artists in U.K. chart History, starting at No. 500 and counting down 10 a week! It"ll take a year!
With "Cross Connections" Chris and I would say the whole programme is a highlight! The show "motto" is: "Why should the Devil have all the good music?!", and we set out to prove every week that he doesn"t. We also have regular guests from the local Christian community, we feature good local music, and just "chew the cud", on local and national issues.

When can we tune into your show?
See answer to Q8 (Kuwait? - no I can"t!)


Next page: About Us

^ Top

Last modified by Simon West on March 09, 2010